Visual identities are arguably the most prominent manifestation of a brand, and with universities around the world are behaving increasingly as corporations, there creative efforts towards rebranding and changes in their logo are recognised. Using the African higher education sector as an example, this chapter draws on the theories of corporate visual identities to provide a theoretical framework for African universities' corporate visual identities. In so doing, this chapter advances theory in brand identity, design, and development. While there are many forms of visual brand identifies, this chapter focuses especially on logos. The logos of the top 200 universities in Africa were analysed to understand the creative elements adopted in creating the visual brand identities for these universities. The study found that overall there appears to be a lack of understanding with regards to the creative design of brand identities by African universities, though with some exceptions as illustrated in the top 20 logos selected in the chapter. The chapter concludes with some suggestions to extend the current body of knowledge in the literature on the corporate logo and corporate visual identity, especially with a focus on HEI brands in the African context. This study presented a theoretical framework of universities' brand identities which focuses on the shape, colour, and typeface of the logo.
With Higher Education Institutions around the world are behaving more like corporations, there is a lack of understanding about the marketing strategies of private universities in Africa, especially the Islamic private universities in Africa. This study aims to fill that gap by conceptualising Islamic higher education marketing as a common ground between three key themes. First, Islamic marketing recognises marketing strategies of Islamic product and services to Muslims and non-Muslims while respecting Islamic values and ideologies. Second Islamic higher education which recognises the contribution of the religions towards education and human resources development and Third, Marketing higher education which recognise the need for universities to adopt marketing communication strategies in the face of marketisation challenges of higher education. The chapters conclude that giving the extent of world's Muslim population, prominence of Islam and the competitive higher education market, it is essential for Islamic private universities to tap into this market dynamics, position themselves to reach out to prospective students who might be looking at attending Universities with inherent Islamic values. The study offers theoretical and managerial implication which will inspire further interest in marketing Islamic private universities in Africa and provide a basis for sound management decisions and stimulate new ideas for future research.
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